Neon Bull

Neon Bull (Boi Neon) follows Iremar, a worker at the vaquejadas, the traditional rodeos of northeastern Brazil. He travels from town to town with a truck that carries the animals and doubles as home for the group he lives and works with, among them Zé, the exotic dancer Galega and her young daughter Cacá. While the region's textile industry grows, Iremar sews garments decorated with glitter and sequins in his spare time, hoping to build a future as a fashion designer rather than remain in the rodeo circuit.

Gabriel Mascaro directed the film, his fourth feature after The Beetle KFZ-1348 and Housemaids and before Divine Love and The Blue Trail. He wrote the screenplay with Marcelo Gomes and Cesar Turim, and Rachel Ellis produced. The cast includes Juliano Cazarré as Iremar, Alyne Santana as Cacá, Maeve Jinkings as Galega, Vinícius de Oliveira, Carlos Pessoa and Samya de Lavor. The production, made with Brazilian, Dutch and Uruguayan partners on a budget of about 2 million dollars, runs 101 minutes.

Audience response has been moderate: on IMDb the film holds 6.8 out of 10 from roughly 3,700 votes, and on TMDB it sits at 6.7 out of 10 from about 100 votes. The two figures are close, suggesting a small but fairly consistent reception for this drama.